THE BASS ROCK 235 



a good deal on their sharp beaks and know how to make use 

 of them, as the sailors of Jacques Cartier found out to their 

 cost in 1534,* and as many a rash handler has discovered 

 since. They struck me as being especially quarrelsome 

 on the Bass Rock. I remember on my first visit how it 

 was not long before a scene of strife presented itself, very 

 characteristic of their natural combativeness. Two 

 Gannets — adult birds, which looked old and solemn enough 

 to be patriarchs of their clan — had their respective 

 nests very close together, on the same ledge ; on settling 

 down they had touched beaks and greeted one another, 

 but simultaneously they espied a large piece of seaweed on 

 the ledge. First one seized it, and then the other, and then 

 began a tug of war, each having hold of one end of the 

 disputed nesting material, until finally the stronger bird 

 dragged off the seaweed. The arrival of a fresh comer on a 

 ledge already occupied was generally a signal for strife, 

 especially if in securing standing room for himself he pushed 

 another Gannet off. If this did not happen, the two birds 

 struggling together would probably for want of room get too 

 near the brink, and in due course topple over the precipice, 

 sometimes locked in a very unfriendly embrace. After an 

 interval in mid air they are seen to hit the water far below 



* Hakluyt's "Voyages," III. Cartier's narrative will be referred to 

 again in Ch. IX. 



